This study aimed to investigate the effects of Lactobacillus plantarum FH185 on the reduction of adipocyte size and gut microbial changes in mice with diet-induced obesity. The strain was found to have a lipase inhibitory activity of 70.09±2.04% and inhibited adipocyte differentiation of 3T3-L1 cells (18.63±0.98%) at a concentration of 100 µg/mL. To examine the effect of the strain supplementation on gut microbial changes in mice with diet-induced obesity, male C57BL/6J mice were fed on four different diets (i.e., A, normal diet (ND); B, high-fat diet (HFD); C, HFD with ABT-3 (10(9) CFU/day); and D, HFD with L. plantarum FH185 (10(9) CFU/day)) for 6 wk. According to the results of fecal pyrosequencing, the ratio of Firmicutes to Bacteroidetes in groups C and D was lower than in the control groups at the phylum level. At the family level, Lactobacillaceae in groups C and D was observed to dominate, while Lachnospiraceae in groups A and B was observed to dominate. At the genus level, Lactobacillus in groups C and D was comparatively higher than in groups A and B. To examine the effects of strain supplementation on the reduction of adipocyte size, the left and right epididymal fat pads were quickly isolated after the animals were sacrificed, and the adipocyte sizes were measured. In groups A, C and D, the percentage of 2,000 m(2) of adipocyte was higher than in the other size of adipocyte, while the percentage of over 5,000 m(2) of adipocyte was highest in group B. The mean adipocyte size of group D was significantly larger than that of group A, but smaller than that of group B.
Keywords: Lactobacillus plantarum; adipocyte size; anti-adipogenetic activity; anti-lipase activity; gut microbiota.